Yale Daily News

Before she was hired at Yale, the new Assistant Muslim Chaplain Leenah Safi signed a letter expressing support for Gaza that calls Israel a “settler colonial project” and opposes Muslim countries’ diplomacy with Israel, which has sparked concerns among some community members. 

Safi signed the letter in May along with 52 other alumni of her alma mater, Zaytuna College, a Muslim undergraduate liberal arts school. The letter also defends the “Palestinian right to resist Israeli aggression and occupation.”  

In messages to alumni who reached out with concerns, Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews wrote that the University was unaware of the letter before hiring Safi, and that Safi is “deeply sorry for the pain her signing the petition has caused.”

“Following Ms. Safi’s starting in her role in the Chaplain’s Office, the University became aware of a petition Ms. Safi signed before she started in her Yale role,” Goff-Crews wrote in an email the News obtained. “Senior university leaders have had conversations with Ms. Safi about the petition, and she is deeply sorry for the pain her signing the petition has caused.”

The letter Safi signed, titled “Standing with Gaza,” states that its signatories “affirm that the state of Israel is a settler colonial project,” “defend the Palestinian right to resist Israeli aggression and occupation, as it is an internationally recognized illegal occupation” and “denounce any Muslim country’s establishing diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity or any entity that directly or indirectly aids the oppression of the Palestinian people.” 

The letter continues, “we expect Muslim institutions and leaders to unequivocally speak the truth” and “divest from and boycott the illegal apartheid state and its supporters.”

When asked for comment by the News, Goff-Crews sent a shorter version of the message she sent to alumni, omitting the mention of Safi’s apology for “the pain her signing the petition has caused.”

A University spokesperson affirmed to the News that Safi told the apology to University leaders. Safi did not immediately comment on what she said to University leaders.

In an earlier email to the News, Safi wrote that her previous experiences have helped inform her current role at Yale and that she hopes to build trust with people on campus.

“I hear the pain and understand the concerns that members of the Yale community have experienced upon learning that I signed this letter to my alma mater earlier this year,” Safi wrote. “Over the last five years, I have been engaged in full time scholarship and practice that centers relational learning and engaging in challenging conversations. This work is, in fact, what motivated me to join this vibrant campus community after being inspired by a dedicated multi-faith chaplaincy office that takes seriously the work and concerns of students from diverse backgrounds and identities.”

When asked by the News, Safi did not say if she stands by the decision to sign the letter.

On Aug. 28, The Beacon, a publication of the Buckley Program, published an article in which the author and two professors expressed unease about the content of the letter Safi signed. Alumni have since raised the concerns with university administrators.

“Many members of the Yale Jewish community feel understandably alienated and worried by the hateful, one-sided, and otherwise deeply problematic nature of what has been reported,” Slifka Center Executive Director Uri Cohen wrote to the News. “I have been in touch with Chaplain Saltiel and others in the administration about this issue, and our conversations continue regarding how the needs of Jewish students can be met in light of these intensely disturbing revelations.”

Before her August appointment at Yale, Safi worked as a chaplain at the University of Michigan and at Wayne State with a non-profit organization serving the Muslim community.

Safi also serves on professional committees with the Association of Muslim Chaplains and the Moral Injury and Recovery unit at the American Academy of Religion.

“I know from my prior chaplaincy experience on campuses and in healthcare contexts that building trust takes time,” she continued in her email. “Although I wish I could have had more time to get to know more people on campus before this moment, I appreciate this opportunity to express my profound commitment to receiving all students in need of care with deep empathy, compassion and respect.”

The Chaplain’s Office commits to serving all members of the Yale community and serves a wide variety of students with different needs. Its website states that its goal is “fostering respect and mutual understanding among people of different faiths and cultures as well as actively promoting dialogue within the University.”

University Chaplain Maytal Saltiel emphasized that the mission of the Chaplain’s Office is to serve members of the Yale community across all different faiths and cultures. 

In the messages to alumni who reached out with concerns, Goff-Crews wrote that Safi is “committed to supporting the religious and spiritual needs of the entire campus community and is dedicated to creating multifaith programs and providing guidance to students of all faiths.”

“Fulfilling our mission has been challenging during this time of heartbreak around the world and on campus,” Saltiel wrote. “But we continue to renew our dedication to this work every day, and especially now in this new school year. We will continue to work tirelessly to build relationships and trust across campus, to reject discrimination and prejudice in all forms. When harm happens, we are here to hold the pain and do the hard work of repair.”

Safi joined the University Chaplain’s office on Aug. 1.

Update, Sept. 12: This story has been updated with comment from a University spokesperson.